Developing quality multifamily homes already presents a high degree of difficulty and risk. As increasing numbers of cities adopt inclusionary housing ordinances to help address the growing deficit in affordable housing, developers that have never created affordable housing face unfamiliar requirements that seem costly, risky, and outside their expertise. 

PLACE's Executive Director has overseen the creation of over $1 billion in affordable multifamily homes and mixed-use developments for cities, counties, PLACE itself, and other developers. 

A 501(c)(3) publicly-supported charity, PLACE, like Goodwill, or Big Brothers Big Sisters operates for public benefit rather than for individual owners and investors. We exist to improve people's lives and their communities through the creation of places that bring together, homes, food, transportation, energy, art and culture, education, and jobs. Our projects are not designed and created for profit. They are designed and created for public benefit. 

The charity is governed by a volunteer national Board of Directors who are dedicated to our mission. If PLACE earns money from a project, the Board must reinvest it to create more public benefit. PLACE Team Members are paid salaries and do not profit from the organization. The organization is audited to assure its good standing as a charity.

Our position as a charity has allowed us to create a process in which PLACE and a market-rate developer can collaboratively plan and construct a mixed-income project to comply with an inclusionary ordinance. PLACE takes responsibility for the permanent ownership and stewardship of the affordable homes. The market-rate developer saves money, effort, and time in this model, in contrast to creating, owning, and managing the income-restricted homes itself.